Taita Juan is Free!

As of November 16, 2010, the criminal charges against Taita Juan have been dropped. Within the next couple of days, the court will begin the process of transferring Taita Juan out of prison to the immigration authorities who will make arrangements for his return to Colombia.

On Tuesday, October 19, 2010, the Indigenous Colombian healer was detained in the Houston International Airport. He was formally arrested by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) for possession of his traditional medicine Ayahuasca.

Taita Juan Agreda Chindoy is an indigenous Cametsa traditional healer from the Sibundoy Valley in the Alto Putumayo of Colombia. In addition to being recognized by the Colombian Ministry of Health, he is a recognized lineage holder of traditional Amazonian medicine and an established healer and leader in his community.

According to a report from Caracol Radio, one of the main radio networks in Colombia,”a Federal Court ruled his release when his attorney showed that Yage (ayahuasca) is a medicinal plant used by indigenous as traditional medicine, and does not generate dependency”.

Among Agreda’s legal defense team is Nancy Hollander. Nancy was the lead attorney that was successful before the Supreme Court in granting the UDV church legal authorization for the religious use of ayahuasca.

Support came from around the world as many people came to Juan’s side, both physically and spiritually, including reports that Colombian embassy officials visited Juan last week, reportedly offering their support. Indigenous rights groups, human rights organizations and networks of the vast ayahuasca community are also among those who came to his aid.

More than €1800 gathered from fundraising initiatives in Europe has been presented to Juan’s family who are “overwhelmed with joy”. The Free Taita Juan campaign raised over $14,000 for his legal defense.

Bia Labate (Beatriz Caiuby Labate)

has a PhD in Anthropology. Her main areas of interest are the study of psychoactive substances, drug policies, shamanism, ritual and religion. She is author, co-author and co-editor of twelve books, one journal special edition and several peer-reviewed articles. Subscribe to this site’s companion newsletter, which covers the author’s writings, the universe of ayahuasca and psychoactive substances in general, legislation on drugs, important conferences and activities in the field. Postings are in English or Portuguese and typically appear once a month.

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NEIP - Interdisciplinary Group for Psychoactive Studies - was founded in 2001 in Brazil. It is a group that unites scholars from various institutions in Brazil and abroad to promote reflection on the topic of psychoactive substances. It seeks to participate in public debate about drug policy, which is normally dominated by ill-informed and prejudiced perspectives, and insists that the Human Sciences have an important role to play in broadening and deepening this debate. In as far as NEIP understands contemporary international prohibitionist policy to stifle debate and reflection, it adopts an anti-prohibitionist political and ethical stance. NEIP thus promotes simultaneously research activity, intellectual exchange, and political intervention.

Did you enjoy the blog?

Make a donation and help my work to continue.

Bia Labate (Beatriz Caiuby Labate)

has a PhD in Anthropology. Her main areas of interest are the study of psychoactive substances, drug policies, shamanism, ritual and religion. She is author, co-author and co-editor of seventeen books, one journal special edition and several peer-reviewed articles. Subscribe to this site’s companion newsletter, which covers the author’s writings, the universe of ayahuasca and psychoactive substances in general, legislation on drugs, important conferences and activities in the field. Postings are in English or Portuguese and typically appear once a month.